Guest Post: Are You Old Fashioned?

*This is a guest post from Steve Browne for the HR Carnival that will be published later today.

The immortal Three Dog Night penned the classic song “Just an Old-Fashioned Love Song” and started it with . . .

“Just an old-fashioned love song

Playing on the radio

And wrapped around the music

Is the sound of someone promising they’ll never go . . .”

You can’t go wrong with anything from Three Dog Night, but a company that relies on “old-fashioned” methods of reaching its Team Members or Clients will be ones that will be longing for the past instead of defining the future.

I work for a Pizzeria.  The company is LaRosa’s and we’ve been a Greater Cincinnati tradition for 56 years as an Italian Family Dining experience.  We are very fortunate to have been a staple of families for generations, but we realize that we need to be even more relevant now so that we are making new connections and sustaining who we are for years to come.

To do this we are doing some proactive moves in Social Media.  Every e-mail that is generated from our Company has our Twitter and Facebook tags so that anyone who receives a message from any Team Member will have the chance to follow us or become a fan.

This has allowed our “fans” to share great experiences that they’ve had at our locations.  It also has opened a voice for those who’d like to see us improve.  Some companies would shy away from this, but we have seen a chance to interact with our Guests.  This is essential so we not only have the “pulse” of our customer, but we have a chance to introduce them to new items and directions in a very intentional forum.

The Company also has been encouraging in allowing HR to keep active in Social Media forums as well as have a balance on what is said by Team Members on Social Media. We understand that someone could unload on the Company, or say something that seems out of character for us.  HR is very much involved with our Marketing group to make sure that the messages we see are addressed, considered and handled consistently without closing the gates on this field.  We understand that Social Media, in some form, will continue and we must be a player in order to remain relevant.

Our goal is to be able to have a one-to-one marketing relationship with our Guests so that we can reach them with messaging and deals that drive them to be an even more active consumer with us.  By meeting their needs where they are, we will be the option for dining that they choose.  It’s an exciting time to be at LaRosa’s.  We value our “old-fashioned” tradition, and we now are building our exciting future !!